Success, in any shape or form, cannot be left to chance, good fortune or luck. History has shown that in order for success to occur there needs to be some initial dreaming, hoping, wishing, desiring and planning. I may as well tell you to STOP READING NOW if you do not have a pulsating desire for success AND can actually believe you can achieve it.

Every great leader, from the dawn of civilization to today, have been dreamers. Every great leader uses their imagination to create a dream and when consistently nourished will turn into a burning desire. If you do not see success in your imagination you are unlikely to see success in your life.

The current economic, political and technological environment we are living today provides the perfect opportunity for practical dreamers, in fact, there has never been a better time in the whole of history than NOW!!. The economic collapse has produced a more ‘level playing field‘ on which ‘a new game has begun’. The rules of the ‘game’ have changed and these rules favour the dreamer.

The ‘changing of the rules’ has called fornew ideas, new ways of doing things, new leaders, newinventions, new methods of teaching, new methods ofmarketing, new books and new literature.

If we take the internet for example, we see successful internet marketers who have transformed from rags to riches virtually overnight. Social media tools like twitter and facebook have made mass communication not only instantaneous but global. Education can be delivered online through webinars and tutorials. E-books are available on any subject (no matter how bizzarre) and can be downloaded instantly.

E-commerce escalates while the economy suffers….Why??? because the ‘game’ favours dreamers. Simple as that! And in order to‘win‘ you must possess the quality that is DEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE– to know what you want and a burning desire to want it.

The economic struggle signifies the death of and old age and marks the birth of another. This new age needs practical dreamers who can and will PUT THEIR DREAMS INTO ACTION.

“Practical dreamers have always been, and will always be the pattern-makers of civilization.” – Napoleon Hill

ADVICE TO PRACTICAL DREAMERS

Tolerance and the ability to have an open mind are essential qualities for the dreamer of today. Those who are afraid of new ideas are beat before they begin. Do not be influenced by those how ridicule your dreams. Let me remind you that people laughed at Christopher Columbus when he thought the world has round and look what happened there!!!

Today’s world is filled with so much opportunity which the past dreamers never knew. A burning desire is the catalyst that propels the dreamers dream into action and unlike the days of Christopher Columbus the world no longer sneers at dreamers or calls them impractical.

In the 1950’s and 1960’s Professor Roger Sperry was investigating brainwave function, he wanted to explore different thinking activities and their effect on the brain. Sperry got volunteers to perform different mental tasks such as mental arithmetic, reading poetry, reciting memorised lines, drawing, looking at different colours, analysing logical problems and daydeaming.

When the right cortex becomes active, the left cortex tends to gon into a relatively restful or meditative state. Similarly when the left cortex becomes active right cortex becomes more calm and relaxed.

You may have heard that the left brain activities were generally labelled as ‘intellectual‘, ‘academic’, or ‘business‘ activities and the right brain activities to be more ‘artistic‘, ‘creative‘ and ‘emotional’ activities. If this labelling were to be true then you would expect academics and intellectuals such as Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein to be ‘left brained’ while artists and musicians such as Beethoven and Michelangelo to be using their ‘right brain.’ RIGHT…??

Well, let us have a look at Einstein. Einstein was nominated the greatest genius of the 20th century. however he was a poor student who preferred daydreaming to studying and was expelled from school. As a teenager he became inspired by the imaginative side of mathmatics and physics and was very interested in the works of michelangelo. These interests fuelled his imagination furthur leading him to develop ‘creative mind games‘. In one of these mind games Einstein imagined that he was standing on the surface of the sum where he sat on a sunbeam and travelled to the ends of the universe. when he came to the end of his journey he found that he was back where he started. Surely this is impossible you can’t travel in a straight line forever and end up where u started!!!! The truth then came to him: his imagination had told him more than logic ever could. From this imagination game Einstein made one of the most profound insights in history: our universe is a curved and finite universe. He did not come to this conclusion by only ‘left brain’ thinking but combining his knowledge of number, word, order, logic, and analysis with imagination, spatial awareness and ability to see the whole picture. This is a perfect example of blending the ‘right’ and ‘left’ brain functions to form ‘whole brain’ creativity.

What a bout the ‘right brained’ creative people? Beethoven is known as one of the most famous musicians. As a musician you would expect him to be ‘ right brained’ but lets consider the nature of music: it is written on lines, in sequence, follows a logic and is based on numbers. These are all ‘left brain’ functions. Music has always been described as the purest form of mathematics. It is also interesting to note that many musicians had mathematics as their major hobby and vice versa. Like Einstein he was neither right or left brained but creatively ‘whole brained’.

Creativity Workout

MAKE A LIST of all the right brain skills that you use, then make a list of all the left brain skills you use. Pay attention to any left or right skills you are neglecting and strengthen them straight away.

TAKE BREAKS. Whole brain thinking requires that you take regular breaks. This is when you come up with most of your ideas, think about it, in the shower, on a walk, before going to sleep, listening to music. Your brain needs to relax.

GO FOR A LONG WALK. This will help increase the blood flow to your brain and provide exciting stimulus for the senses

BE CREATIVE IN YOUR ECERYDAY LIFE. Make up two lists, one for activities when you are most creative and one for when you a least creative. this will help you identify where you can maximise creativity and eliminate non creative activities.

MASTERMIND GROUP. When faced with a problem ask your mastermind group, real or imaginary, to help you come up with the answer.

USE BOTH SIDES OF YOUR BODY. By using both sides of your body you will use both sides of your brain. Use your non dominant hand for daily activities, brushing your teeth, writing, answering the phone.

PLAY EINSTEIN LIKE IMAGINATION GAMES. Ask yourself an interesting question and let you imagination run riot with all the possible solutions no matter how bizzare or crazy they are. See what you can come up with.

To read more about creativity and your brain I would strongly reccommed reading Tony Buzans “The Power of Creative Intelligence”.

When reading Dale Carnegies “How to Win Friends and Influence people” I stumbled across this BIG SECRET.

There is only one way to get anybody to do anything. And that is making the other person want to do it.

Of course you can make somebody do something by holding a gun to his head, or make a child do what you want by threatening them, but these methods have negative consequences.

‘The only way I can get you to do something is by giving you what you want’.

What do YOU want? Some of the things most people want are:

Health

Food

Sleep

Money and the things it will buy

Life in the thereafter

Sexual gratification

The well being of our children

A feeling of IMPORTANCE

Nearly al of these can be can be granted – except one. It is what Freud calls“The desire to be great” ” and John Dewy, one of Americas great philosophers, says is the deepest urge in human nature “The desire to be important”.

“Everybody likes a compliment” – Lincon

“The deepest principle in human nature is to be appreciated” – William James

This desire makes us want to buy the latest, clothes, cars and gadgets. However this desire can have adverse affects for example. many young children join gangs and commit crimes to gain appreciation and to be seen as a ‘hero’ among their peers. John Dillenger got his feeling of importance as an outlaw, bank robber and murderer. When Dillenger was caught by the FBI he stated ” Im John Dillenger” proud that he was Public Enemy Number ONE.

Why did Andrew Carnegie pay Charles Schwab over $1million a year? was it because he was a genius? or new more about steel than anyone else? No, not at all. Schwab himself admitted this and said

“I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among my people to be the biggest asset I possess, and the way to develop the best in a person is by appreciation and encouragement” – Charles Schwab.

Will flattery work? Flattery rarely works with discerning people, it is shallow, selfish and insincere. What is the diffreence between flattery and appreciation? One is sincere and the other one isn’t. One comes from the heart out and the other one the teeth out. one is unselfish; the other one selfish.

” Flattery is telling the other person exactly what they think about themselves” – King George V

Appreciation is one of the most neglected virtues of our daily existense. Try leaving a friendly trail of little sparks of gratitude on your daily trips. You will be surprised how well they will ignite flames of friendship.

“Every man I meet is my superior in some way” – Emmerson

So lets stop thinking in terms of your own wants and accomplishments, but think more about others good points. Forget flattery but give sincere honest appreciation and dont forget to repeat these steps on a daily basis.

Whilst reading Tony Buzans Book of Genius I found these qualities that explain why successfull people are successful.

1. VISION

The ‘guiding light’ with in us. Vision is our ability to imaginatively see our life plans in a way that is clear and comprehensively understood in our minds eye. One of the worlds greatest masters of vision is Muhammad Ali, his VISIONS OF VICTORY where so well formed that he could describe vividly round-by-round analysis of his fights months before they occured, often stating in what round and how he would win. Theses publically promoted visions also became etched in the minds of his opponents, who subconsiously shared Alis vision which contributed to their own downfall.

2. DESIRE

The degree of passion or want to fulfil your visions, goals and successful lifestyle. Many great successful men have described their desire as a’ burning’ or ‘pulsating’ urge or an ‘overriding hunger’ . There are 6 steps that turn desire into success.

3. FAITH

To become truely successful you have to posses a solid belief in yourself and your mastermind group. Faith has to be particularly strong as it is often the case that successful people are often ridiculed because their vision is not yet understood by others.

4. COMMITMENT

Commitment is the combination of vision, desire and faith.

5. PLANNING

Planning is vitally important in achieving whatever succuss you want to achieve. Effective planning involves definiteness of purpose, focus and attention to detail of short, medium and long term goals of your overall vision.

6.PERSISTENCE

The ability to chase your dreams in the face of adversity when others would give up. A man who had incredible persistence was Thomas Edison, Edison conducted over 5000 experiments to get electricity to produce light. He kept going when others told him to stop saying that with every failure he was one step closer to success.

7. LEARN FROM MISTAKES

Many success stories are born from the ability to review mistakes, no matter how unpleasant they may be.

‘ A wise man learns from his mistakes,

An even wiser man learns from others ”

8. SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE

It is impotrant to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge in the field you wish to pursue.

The process of creating internal images or ‘to see thought’ and to visualise the outcome of plans and goals.

11. POSITIVE ATTITUDE

A realistic, positive attitude is enthusiastic, optimistic, up beat and can-do and open to every opportunity for getting the best out of every situation. Be careful not to wander into the territory of rose tinted glasses, maintain an accurate assessment of events with a focus on maximising opportunities.

12. AUTO-SUGGESTION

Auto suggestion is the ‘self talk’ we do in our heads (yes, everybody does it, its not just you!) Psychologists have reported that as much as 90% of it tends to be negative. For example. ” I cant do that” “that will never happen for me”. Why not flip this percentage to 90% positive self talk. Charles Dickens ‘auto suggested’ out loud by having conversations with his characters and roaring out loud with laughter.

13. INTUITION or 6th SENSE

This is the ability to ‘sense’ or ‘feel’ accurately the possibilities or probabilities for accomplishing a goal in all situations. This can occur in sudden flash moments of insight like the ‘Eureka moment‘ or it can be a sudden deep down realisation that something will succeed.

14. MASTERMIND GROUP (REAL)

A mastermind group is a group of individuals who make up your immediate personal and professional ‘circle of advisors and influencers‘ who assist in the achievement of visions and goals.

15. MASTERMIND (INTERNAL)

The internal role models or’ heroes’- either from history or those in the present who we can learn from.

16. TRUTH/HONESTY

Your brain is a truth seeking mechanism and will therefore seek out the truth, so it is vitally important to be true to yourself as well as others.

17. FACING FEARS/ COURAGE

It is often assumed that successful people have less fear than most people. In fact the opposite is true. The strength of successful people is in their ability to face fear, as a result they actively step out from their comfort zones to seek fear and tackle it square on, its the thrill of the unknown and overcoming it.

18. CREATIVITY/FLEXIBILITY

The quality of success is in relation to your ability to generate new ideas, see things from a different perspective, to solve problems in anoriginal ways and to maintain an open, quick, curious and exploring mind.

19. LOVE OF THE TASK

This is expressed as a life consuming passion and enthusiasm, not only for the particular vision but its wider implications.

20.ENERGY

How many successful people exude a certain physical, sensual and sexual energy? yes thats right, all of them! This magnetic quality comes from the other 19 qualities working in harmony towards your vision of lifestyle success.

DESIRE is the starting point of all achievement is, Desire is so important to SUCCESS that it is one of thirteen key principles of success outlined by Napoleon Hill in his book Think and Grow Rich. Desire is not a hope or a wish, it is a pulsating urge that transcends everything else in life. To become truly successful you must desire success with a definiteness of purpose that it becomes a consuming obsession of life.THE 6 STEPS
1. Fix in your mind EXACTLY what you desire! It is not good enough to say “ I want lots of money”, “ I want a better job”. You need to be exact, for example; I want £1million, I want to be the CEO of company X. Really Imagine what achieving this will feel like, look like.

2. Determine exactly what you intend to GIVE IN RETURN for what you desire. You will not get something for nothing.

3. Set a definite DATE for when you intend to achieve the success you want ( This will psychologically present your mind with a state of urgency)

4. Create a definite PLAN for carrying out your desire and START AT ONCE! Whether you are ready or not, put your plan into action. There is no substitute for action. Remember READY, FIRE, AIM!!! not ready, aim, fire!

5. WRITE a clear and concise statement of what exactly it is you want to achieve, the date you will achieve this by, state what it is you will give in return and describe clearly your plan to acquire it.

6. READ ALOUD your written statement twice a day, The first thing you do when you wake and the last thing you do before going to bed. As you read really see, feel and believe you have all ready achieved your desire. ( THIS IS ESSENTIAL!!!)

To turn your hopes and wishes into a BURNING DESIRE you will have to follow all the instructions described in all of THE 6 STEPS. It is especially important that you follow step 6 with 100% commitment. Many people have complained that it is impossible to “ see yourself having achieved the success you want” before you actually have it. Here is where your burning aid will come to your assistance, if you truly desire success that your desire is an obsession, you will have no problem in convincing yourself that you have it. It is only when you saturate your mind with success that you can see yourself in possession of it.